Thursday, April 26, 2007

Global Warming Getting Hotter

Beside the Wal-Mart isssue in Berlin and the Courthouse issue in Green Lake there seem to be a new issue in the Sound Off column in the paper. Two weeks ago there was a letter in the Sound Off column regarding the showing of the movie "An Inconvenient Truth" in schools. There are some calls to show the other side of this argument. Last week Heidi wrote in to ask what the other side of global warming was? This week Vicki Schwark wrote in with some people to reference to support the "other side" of the global warming issue. So I took Vicki at her word and google some of the references. Here is what I found.

Rich S. Lindzen has no hits what so ever on google so I don't know who she is referring to.

Patrick Michael real name Partick Michaels is professor at UVA. He does in fact concede the earth is warming but is not as alarmist as some of the other spokes people in the global warming camp. He also concedes much of his funding comes from fossil fuel companies who are trying to create a lack of concensus on global warming because it is obviously in their financial interest. He has received over $100,000 from the Rocky Mountain Rural Electric Co. for example.

The Heartland Institute maintains it is a nonprofit organization devoted to discovering and promoting free-market solutions to social and economic problems. OK. And since this is their mission statement guess where their funding comes from. Big Tobaacco(who sit on the board of directors), Big Autos(who sit on their board of directors) and Exxon(who sit on the board of directors). This is certainly an unbiased group of people who have no commercial interest in the global warming debate.

Max Mayfield- I am not really sure why Mayfield is sited. He was the head of the National Hurricane Center and was "person of the week" for correctly predicting the size and devastion of Hurrican Katrina. I don't find any references by him to global warming directly.

Here is what I have really discovered. There is a RANGE of views. Not one scientist for or against. I'm not a scientist. The Global Warming propents may be alarmist but most of the scientists referred to agree the earth is warming. What they don't agree on is the possible results.

25% of the Republican party believes global warming is an issue. 75% of the Democratic party believes global warming is an issue.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Whether global warming is real or not, we should all do more to protect the environment. In my opinion, nothing is more important the preservation of our planet. I saw the film "An Inconvenient Truth" and hated it. For one thing, Al Gore talks down to the viewers like we are all idiots. His slow, condescending tone is patronizing and demeaning. His stupid, cutesy cartoons are insulting to my intelligence. Everything he said could have been covered in a precise 10 minute oration. If Al Gore really is concerned about the topic of "global warming" and wanted to get the word out, then he would have found a politically neutral narrator and not shown his face at all. Obviously, he had other things on his agenda. I am assuming that the Schwarks were upset about it being shown in the public school because the movie was pure ultra-left wing propaganda.

Anonymous said...

Ripon Public Library and the UW Speakers Bureau are pleased to announce that David Houghton will present a talk on global warming and its impacts. Professor David Houghton will appear at Ripon Public Library at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 11, 2007 a

Global climate change has become a major challenge for the world community. People in all walks of life are beginning to pay attention to the search for solutions and ways to respond to this problem our world is facing. Professor Houghton will provide an overview of the scientific aspects and a general understanding of the relevant physics. Dr. Houghton is a very recognized and accomplished leader in the field of meteorology and atmospheric science. He is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin.

There is no admission charge and all are welcome to attend. The event will be held in the lower level meeting room of the Ripon Public Library.

If you have any questions about this program, please contact the library at 748-6160 or email Julie Waldvogel

The date has been changed to May 10th, 2007 (due to the snow storm on April 11th.)

Drunken_Bastard said...

Hmm....eartha,

I think that's just Al Gore's way, I don't believe he has much say in how he comes over. He had the same 'style' of presentation throughout his election campaign, which some people attribute to his failure to overcome Bush.

I'd take Gore's condescending demeanor over Bush's inept ape-like mannerisms any day. I can’t imagine anyone taking our President seriously if he tried to deliver a scholarly presentation, can you?

As far as a political agenda goes, yes, I agree. But how can that be construed as negative or self-serving? This is the most important issue on the face of our planet, anything that increases exposure of the issue has to be a good thing, in my book.
Have a lovely weekend (while you still can).
DB

Anonymous said...

I'm a senior fellow with The Heartland Institute, an organization
"Highknocker" grossly misrepresented in his post about global warming.
There are no members on Heartland's Board of Directors who work for "Big
Tobacco" or "Exxon." (Roy Marden left Philip Morris in 2003, and Walter
Buchholtz more recently.) An economist who works for General Motors does
indeed sit on Heartland's Board ... but a moment's reflection should
reveal that his service on the board is irrelevant to Heartland's take
on global warming. Car companies want cheaper, not more expensive, oil,
and GM is heavily promoting ethanol. Most importantly, no corporation
gives more than 5% of Heartland's budget ... so 95% of its funding comes
from foundations, individuals, and companies that are as likely to worry
about global warming as the rest of us.

Concerning scientific opposition to Al Gore's brand of global warming
alarmism, I suggest you go to this web site ...
www.globalwarmingheartland.org ... a site recently created by Heartland,
where you'll find the names and bios of more than 50 experts who do not
believe human activity is responsible for most of the recent warming
trend, or that future warming will be harmful. There's also a link to a
recent survey of climate scientists worldwide which finds most of them
don't believe what Al Gore says on this important topic.

Anonymous said...

There was a very informative letter in the Sound Off section of today's Green Lake Reporter regarding this topic. I appreciate the time and effort that Janet Reabe put into contributing this information. Many thanks Janet!

Anonymous said...

If you spend anytime in the great out of doors, and I'm not talking about out on your back yard deck, it's very obvious there are already serious issues caused by the earths warming that we should not ignore. Trees have died off, certain plants have disappeared and much of this is attributed to the lack of colder temps and lesser snow pack that has a negative impact on plants and life in the higher elevations. If you think the melting of the polar ice cap is a joke, be glad you’re not a polar bear whose days are numbered due to starvation from a dwindling food source due to the melting ice. There are other changes we need to pay attention to. You can say these are frivolous or who cares, but these are early warning signs of a coming change.

We can debate this until we’re dead and I have no doubt we will. But, we can lessen our impact on the earth and its resources by taking easy steps and adjusting our life styles. The easiest is to dump the 15mpg or less SUV for a sporty sedan that get 25 or even 30 mpg or more. Unless you’re wealthy beyond your means, gas prices will drive you to do this anyway. The spiral florescent light bulb is here to stay for awhile. Buy them, use them and learn to love them. If you can’t handle the short delay time they have to come to full brightness, go ahead and keep one incandescent for your reading light. When LED bulbs becomes cost efficient, the spiral may fade off into history. For now, they are what we have. There are dozens of other things you can do. Increase your recycling, use less plastic. Yes, plastic is recyclable but it takes oil to produce it. The list goes on and on. Do a little study.

The old saying… “If not us who and if not now when” could never be more applicable to our time than it is now. We do live in a changing world, if man made or natural may never be answered. I for one will strive to never be so ignorant and stupid to say, why should I do it if the other guy isn’t? Who cares, it’s a good thing, do it! Let’s be the first generation that actually leaves the earth a better place for the generations who follow.

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